Hundreds of Ethiopian Jews have rallied peacefully against discrimination and racism in the Israeli port city of Haifa, a week after Tel Aviv witnessed violent street clashes that left 65 people injured.

The main point of
contention in weeks-long protests lies in the discretionary
treatment of dark skinned Ethiopian Jews, that sparked nationwide
outcry against police brutality following the earlier publication
of a video showing police beating an Israeli man of Ethiopian
descent.

“Black or white, we are all human beings,” was the main
slogan that united the activists in the Carmel Center in Haifa.

Police blocked the roads as the mixed crowd demanded respect from
the authorities. The activists, both of Ethiopian descent and
locals that showed up in support, carried signs that read:
"Don't distinguish blood from blood, we are all humans."
There were no reports of violence, police said.

One of the organizers of the demonstration told Ynet news, that
"after 30 years, the country should provide answers to the
question of how it's possible that members of the community
continue to suffer from discrimination and crime in the
neighborhoods they live in."

Earlier on Tuesday, the Israeli lawmakers met at a special
Knesset session to address the recent tensions in the Ethiopian
Israeli community. Approximately 135,500 Ethiopian Jews live in
Israel, and more than a third of them – over 50,000 – were born
in the country.

Systematic segregation in Israeli society, is something that the
opposition leaders urged the Likud and PM Benjamin Natanyahu’s
government to put an end to.

“The authorities’ treatment of people with different skin
color needs to be put on the table and discussed,” Zionist
Union leader Issac Herzog said according Ynet. “Recent events
are a dramatic wake-up call for all of the citizens of
Israel,” Herzog said during the discussion.

Former Israeli MP and the first Ethiopian-born woman to become a
parliamentarian, told the lawmaker that the “systematic
racism” against Ethiopian Jews was long-neglected while
Joint (Arab) List MK Dov Khenin said that institutionalized
racism was behind the unrest.

“Racism is a disease that affects many communities within
Israeli society, and threatens us all,” he said, the Times
of Israel reports.

Last week, security forces fired pepper spray and stun grenades
during a protest against racism and police violence, staged by
Jews of Ethiopian descent in Tel Aviv. Some 65 people, including
policemen, were injured in clashes.

Street protests began late April after a clip emerged showing
policemen shoving and punching a black soldier. Officers in the
video were suspended of their duties.